Secrets Never Kept
by KNDnumbuh678
Summary: A new girl comes to Ronnie Anne and Sid's school. What's she hiding from? (edited)
1. Part 1

This takes place with the Casagrandes

It was a cool autumn morning in the city. Ronnie Anne and Sid excited talked about their weekend plans while waiting for class to start. Soon enough the teacher entered followed by another girl.

"Class, we have a new student joining us. Please help me welcome Marlo Harrison." The class gave a cheerful hello, but the girl didn't respond. Ronnie Anne looked closer at this new girl. Her soft blonde hair half covered her eyes and she stood as if she was ready to run any second. She also managed to make out two decent sized scars the the girl's left cheek. She tugged anxiously at her dark green sweater.

"So Marlo, is there anything you'd like to tell us about yourself?" Marlo gave a shy shake of her head, never looking up from her feet. Sid and Ronnie Anne shared a look, both curious about this girl.

"Alright then sweetheart. Why don't you take the open seat next to Sid over there and we'll start our lessons?" Marlo finally looked up and gave a sheepish nod before shuffling to the desk. Sid gave a wide grin and stuck out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Sid Chang, nice to meet you." The girl jumped at the quick motion. She looked up at Sid for a moment, but quickly looked away and took her seat without responding. Sid retracted her hand hand and gave a disappointed look to her best friend.

Class durg on slowly with a single peep from Marlo. The girl barely looked up from her desk, and seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible. This made Ronnie Anne and Sid more curious. Eventually lunch time came and the students filed out into the halls.

"That new girl was kind of odd right?" Ronnie Anne piped up. Sid shrugged while grabbing her lunch box from her locker.

"I don't know, she was definitely shy. Maybe she's just having a hard time getting used to things? We should ask her to sit with us at lunch." Ronnie Anne nodded happily and the two set off for the cafeteria. After a few minutes they found Marlo sitting alone at the edge of the room. The two went over to her smiling.

"Hey Marlo, it's me, Sid. This is my best friend Ronnie Anne. Do you mind if we sit with you?" Marlo continued to look down at her lunch tray without a word. The friends shared another look and sat down.

"So where are you from?" Nothing

"How are you liking the city so far?" Silence

"What do your parents do?" Her shoulders tenced at the words but still no response.

"Do you have any si-" Marlo quickly stood up and all but ran from the cafeteria. Sid looked down at her lunch feeling a bit guilty.

"Do you think I came on too strong?" Ronnie Anne thought for a moment and shrugged.

"Maybe a little, but she didn't have to up and leave like that. What is with that girl?" The two quietly finished their food and returned to class.

At the end of the day the girls sat on the subway trying to figure out what happened.

"Marlo really didn't seem to want anything to do with us. I can't figure out why." Ronnie Anne pouted while Sid sat quietly in thought.

"Maybe she was too nervous? It was only her first day. Maybe we can try again on Monday? She might just need some time to get herself together." Ronnie Anne nodded and the two exited the subway station.

"I'm going to ask my Abuela about it. She's usually pretty good with this stuff." Sid gave a thumbs up as they entered the building and parted ways. Ronnie Anne entered her apartment to see her grandmother sweeping.

"Abuela, can I talk to you?" The older woman looked to her granddaughter and smiled.

"Of course Mija, what is it?" The two sat down on the sofa and Ronnie Anne explained the day at school with the new girl. Rosa nodded along with her story.

"It definitely does sound a little odd for her to be so quiet and reserved, but I think Sid has the right idea. Sometimes when a person is in a new situation they prefer to isolate themselves to process at their own pace. She'll have the weekend to settle in, so maybe when you get back to school Monday she'll be more open?" Ronnie Anne nodded with a sad smile. She felt a little bad for being so judgy before.

"I get it. Thanks Abuela, this really helped." The two shared a tight hug before parting and going off to do their own things.

Ronnie Anne sat in her room thinking about Marlo. She really thought about the way the girl looked. Her hair seemed a bit frazzled, her clothes were obviously too big on her. She really looked small and very skinny. Her chocolate brown eyes seemed to be alert at all times. And she couldn't forget the scars on her face. Something really did feel off about this girl, but Ronnie Anne couldn't place what. She put it out of her mind and decided to go to the park for a bit before dinner.

They'll figure it all out on Monday after all.


	2. part 2

The weekend comes and goes quickly and the girls stand in front of their school once again. Ronnie Anne looks around but can't find any sign of Marlo. After a few minutes she finally spotted the girl by the steps of the front doors. Like before she seems to be trying to make herself small and unnoticeable. Sid and Ronnie Anne approached her with big smiles.

"Morning Marlo, how was your weekend?" Marlo looked towards the two for a moment, but quickly looked away and shrugged. Before they could ask anything else the bell rang and Marlo dashed off into the school. Ronnie Anne sighed a bit disheartened.

"She still seems pretty jumpy." Sid nodded and the two entered the school. That day happened to be gym class after lunch so the two were chatting while getting changed.

"How many laps do you think she'll make us run today?" Ronnie Anne shrugged and turned towards Marlo. Her eyes went wide as she briefly saw a dark bruise on the girl's hip before she pulled her shirt all the way down.

"Woah, how'd you get that?" She asked pointing to where the bruise was. Marlo tensed up and moved away from the other girl. Her eyes darted around looking for anyone watching or listening.

"Not your business." The harsh and aggressive tone from Marlo caught Ronnie Anne by surprise. Before anything else could be said the gym teacher came in.

"Alright ladies, let's get to our warm up. Five laps around the gym, GO!" And with that everyone rushed out of the locker room. Ronnie Anne tried to keep an eye on Marlo, which was surprisingly difficult as she was pretty fast. The day eventually came to an end and Sid caught Marlo while leaving the school.

"Hey Marlo, wait up! Do you want to walk home together?" Marlo looked around suspiciously, not seeing any sign of Ronnie Anne.

"What about your friend?" Her tone was much more calm but still firm.

"Oh, Ronnie Anne had to go straight home to help in her family's store." Marlo looked thoughtful for a moment, eyeing Sid with a nervous concern. After a bit she nodded and gestured for Sid to walk with her. The girl grinned and happily followed.

"Um, you know, I'm really sorry about last week. I didn't mean to upset you like that." Marlo shrugged, watching the leafs blown around by the autumn wind.

"It's fine." Sid wasn't sure what to think. This girl was such a mystery.

"So, are you into like sports or something?" Marlo shook her head, her hair falling more into her face.

"Oh, okay. I was just wondering since you had that big bruise…" The girl stopped dead in her tracks. Sid looked back at her surprised.

"Don't talk about it." Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, but still seemed a little angry.

"Oh, sorry. I won't bring it up again." Marlo nodded and continued on. After a few minutes of silence Marlo stopped at the street corner.

"I'm going left." Sid nodded and the two parted ways. The rest of the walk home Sid couldn't help but wonder why Marlo didn't want to talk about her injury. Was it something bad? Was she being bullied? It was really confusing to think about.

She finally reached her building and saw Ronnie Anne sweeping the sidewalk outside the store. The two friends locked eyes and smiled.

"Hey Sid, how was the walk home? Hope you weren't too lonely." Sid shook her head.

"Not really. I actually walked part of the way with Marlo." Ronnie Anne paused and looked at her best friend confused.

"Really? She actually let you near her? Did she talk?" Sid giggled at her friend's surprise.

"A little, but not much. She really doesn't seem all that bad, but I can't get read on her." The two shrugged it off and went upstairs to work on their homework together.

Maybe they'll try and talk to her more tomorrow?


End file.
